onestar wrote:Two cents here, I was pretty anti-sign leading up to the con, but you know, it really wasn't that awful this year, I was pretty impressed at the level of decency the free hugs sign people had, good on you guys, way to make me change my mind about you. :D

(In before people start gloating "I TOLD YOU SO")

Yeah, it wasn't that bad. I still wouldn't miss them if they were banned though.

dairylives wrote:ugh, the "No signs" rule extends only to those who are impeding traffic. Which none of them really were. Picture takers are far , far worse. If you don't like something, just get over it. Just because you can't tolerate people acting differently than yourself doesnt mean there should be a ban. I'm not gonna get into this, but there's threads for you to look at that explain the ridiculousness of the anti-sign crowd.

I've been to two Youmacons and upwards of twenty cons overall. Youma is the only convention remaining where no signs is not enforced.

It isn't a manner of "people acting differently" and me not being able to tolerate that. You defend sign holders as if they are minorities being oppressed. Please give me several reasons why sign holders should be enforced, as opposed to "if you don't like something, just get over it".

Picture takers are not harassing me to hug them and then acting dejected when I reject. Picture takers do not jump in front of me as I am walking somewhere and whine "FREE HUGGGG?". Picture takers do not shove a sign in my face and beg me to hug them.

The maturity level of the average Youmacon attendee is ridiculous. My friend got running-tackle-glomped about four times within the span of a couple hours at Youma. I've been with her pretty much every time she's worn the same costume over the course of the past year that she was glomped repeatedly in and this was the first time I'd seen such a large amount of glompers.

Every other con I've been to, etiquette towards glomping and sign holding is ENFORCED and mentioned in the PROGRAM ITSELF. If you tried any of this bull at Otakon, you would definitely receive a stern talking to.

You can't say "none of them were impeding traffic". I know for a fact some of them were on a first hand basis. The fact that even one person impeded traffic overrules the however many you saw in a positive light and "enjoyed" who weren't doing so.

Yes, picture takers get in the way, but picture takers are also just minor. You can walk around someone taking a picture, you can wait, you can tell them to move. Yes, you can do it to someone holding a free hugs sign too, but that still doesn't change the fact that they're holding that sign and someone is bound to hug them and block traffic or someone will undoubtably JOIN them and create a line that blocks traffic.

Not to mention, did you ever really consider how unhygienic it is? Right now, we have a Swine Flu epidemic going on. Please consider how totally awesome it is to have one person hugging dozens of people who then go on to hug dozens more people. Then please assume that one person has something infectious. I stand next to someone in a line for the Rave or even an autograph who just got done hugging half of the convention by proxy. She coughs on me. I'm now sick, and I return to my college, where I get more people sick because I can't afford to miss class or work.

I don't care how many threads there are calling me ridiculous because I disapprove of free hug signs just like every convention staff at every other con I go to. And unless someone offers a valid, logical argument other than preteens just want to have fun lol ignore it they aren't hurting you!!!! I'm going to continue viewing them in a negative light and hoping that Youma staff will finally work on cutting back on them.

The valid, logical argument is to just sit back and look at what you just typed. Your core reasoning here is that it effects you in a negative way because they annoy you, and they shove it in your face. You mention that picture takers arent as bad because they aren't as immature, and we could discuss back and forth all day about anecdotal "evidence" that people were immature or mature, but really your reasoning is very case by case based. You cannot prove that the majority of them are obtrusive. The only argument you have is based on two things: What other cons do. And what you think is acceptable.

Most other cons have no sign rules because of their large size and inability to reprimand and control people breaking these rules on a one on one basis. Cons like ACen need this rule so they arent wasting their time stopping annoying teenagers, and instead dealing with important things. Youma is (or was) a small enough con in a small enough venue that the staff could keep an eye on these things. Its kinda outrageous to ban behavior that affects absolutely no one except those easily offended. If you had physical space issues with the sign holders, you should have reported them directly to con security and had it taken care of; but it seems that you are just annoyed by signs in general, so figure that should be taken care of too. I suppose i don't understand why people feel the need to impose their own personal levels of comfort upon an entire con. If it was an issue, security would handle it.

I'm sorry if i seem rude, i just feel bad for some of these kids that look forward to the con for these reasons. Personally, i think its completely stupid and annoying, but far be it from me to tell them they shouldnt do that, just as much as i would never move to ban Furries from a con because i find them annoying too.

So yeah, i hope i made my point clear, and sorry if i sounded rude. It was nice running into you and taking some sweet Venture Bros pics at the con!

My biggest complaint is the whole sign "___ me" signs. At one point I saw a little girl who couldn't have been older than 11 years old walking around unattended with a "Hug Me." sign and a leash on around her neck. She'd was standing there asking strangers to hug her and lead her around on a leash. I turned around to look for a staffer and she was gone, lost in the crowd. But this deeply disturbed me. I know it's not the responsibility of the con to babysit people's children, but I do believe that signs of this type should be highly discouraged if not banned. They are not only annoying to see taped to the desperate otaku, but potentionally dangerous to a minor who doesn't think about the consequences... and when this type of behavior is almost encouraged?

My whole issue with this signs is that there are young minors (the point i made in my last post.) Holding these signs, which can lead to inappropriate touching... or worse. I've been to other cons where such signs have been banned due to something bad happening to a minor. I believe signs soliciting acts are just a BAD idea.

Ok first I would like to say thanks everyone who came and everyone who is expressing their opinions here in a creative and respectful manner I would also like to address some problems that I see everyone complaining about to see if i can explain to the best of my Knowledge what was going on with certain things. If someone knows different by all mean do quote what I said and add to it. I am not attacking anyone just expressing my opinion and thoughts as a Guest Relations Staffer. I will be doing this in several posts as there are a lot of things to address and I am still reading all the topic pages. I just want to post answers that I do have while they are still fresh in my mind so First Hot button topic

PART 1

Elevator explanation

While we did have a sign up that said 15 people that number was subjected to change for several reasons one being something someone mentioned earlier in the Forum and that was costume size people with extravagant costumes or large weapons decreased the room in the elevator I am pretty sure no one wanted to be impaled or damaged during a 12 floor ride. Also I am willing to bet this is the most continual use those elevators will get all year ,and do to the strain a lot of them were breaking down some even shaking and acting weird. The HOTEL STAFF in an attempt to do damage control started Minimizing the number of people who were allowed in the elevators which was beyond our control some people who where in the ones that where shaking and so forth also prevented more people from getting on ,because lets face it being stuck in an elevator waiting for a repair man is not an event we offer nor is it fun -_-. The activity I did the most this years was elevator riding to get my Guest's things they wanted and needed and well at least the times I had to catch it they were not as bad as last year.

My personal opinion on the matter is people taking the elevator with no disabilities from the second to the first floor or the third floor to the first should be eaten alive by 1000 under fed Furries their laziness only added to the elevator Chaos. Also I think some Attendee's need a few lessons in manners I saw several groups of people pile into an elevator with no concern for the people in the wheel chairs that were clearly waiting before them. Several times I had to pull rank and pull people out of elevators to allow the handicap in.

Overall the new venue next year has 73 floors so its probably going to be a longer wait. Elevators in a convention of 7000+ people will always be a problem that we sadly cannot control. However if people remember their manners it doesn't have to be a horrid experience I for one made a lot of friends waiting and riding the elevator by striking up conversation about random stuff or meowing at people XD. So word of advice for next year for those heading out to panels/events during high volume hours plan ahead! Just like as if you had to get to class or work take traffic into consideration and remember everyone has had to wait at least 15mins or longer for the elevator at least once no one needs attitude or tempers on top of that.

Last edited by fantasytiger86 on Fri Nov 06, 2009 4:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Volunteer- someone who signs up to assist in the small things badge checking/door/etc

Staff- those who have been with the con and operating con for a few years who handle the events/guests/ and major things

I believe this year we had a few new members of staff that I don’t remember from years prior
I have heard a lot of complaints about Staff/Volunteers. We are aware of people
We assigned to a door who either never showed or skipped out. There were also a few people who were suppose to run panels that also never showed. However I would like to apologize to anyone who was mistreated by a Volunteer/staff and was unprovoked I do agree that we need to screen better and have someone down there who is a good judge of character when handing out Volunteer badges. Some of these people were very rude and only seemed to be in it for the badge. I don’t agree that Volunteer’s should have been allowed to cut in front of the platinum badge holders in anything. Nor do I agree that they should have been given free access to anything ahead of everyone. Volunteer’s sign-up to WORK not to throw a badge in attendee’s faces and belittle them. Volunteer’s should only be allowed to get into rooms ahead of others if they are working and are needed in said room or if they are trying to locate someone in said room. There should be a gap between what Volunteer’s can get into vs. where the Staff goes. Also someone needs to explain to Volunteer’s exactly what is acceptable and what is not and explain exactly what they are going to be doing preferable in several different languages because clearly some people didn‘t understand -_-. I caught attitude from several Volunteer’s who where annoyed because they had to watch the doors for a few hours which included standing at some point and dealing with crazy cosplayers and screaming fan girls.

Tip: for anyone who felt abused or unfairly treated this feedback board is the perfect place to vent that Volunteer’s are a little harder to maintain however if they had a staff badge take down names on the badges or distinctive traits. Wild color hair/tattoo’s etc panels times and locations I don’t know who takes care of Staff Discipline but that will help them in trying to figure out who it was and what happened.

Advice For those looking to Volunteer next year know what your getting into you will have to deal with
The Good/The Bad/ and the Ugly. It takes an extreme amount of patience so if you cannot deal with people or you have a short fuse Volunteering may not be the best choice for you. We want Volunteer’s to have fun ,but we don’t want to chase after people and make them work. We have other things that need to be handled in order to keep the con going. Do not Volunteer just for a badge because as fast as we give it we can and will take it away if your behavior warrants it.

Aiko wrote:My biggest complaint is the whole sign "___ me" signs. At one point I saw a little girl who couldn't have been older than 11 years old walking around unattended with a "Hug Me." sign and a leash on around her neck. She'd was standing there asking strangers to hug her and lead her around on a leash. I turned around to look for a staffer and she was gone, lost in the crowd. But this deeply disturbed me. I know it's not the responsibility of the con to babysit people's children, but I do believe that signs of this type should be highly discouraged if not banned. They are not only annoying to see taped to the desperate otaku, but potentionally dangerous to a minor who doesn't think about the consequences... and when this type of behavior is almost encouraged?

THANK YOU FOR SEEING THAT. I know it totally made me sick angain and i was LiKe, where is the Staff to stop this Bull? I still saw the hug me signs and ocassional Glump me signs. It wasn't as bad as last year but it still was verry annoying. Me @ 22 taking a 14 year old girl on a leash she requested, that's almost like child neglagence, you can get into so much trouble for that, I don't even want to think about it. For 010 please everyone stop with the "Hug me" signs and if you despritetly have to do it meet up in some area of the hotel and hug your hearts out for that manner. Walking kids on a chain.... I do that enought at home with my dogs, i don't need to do it more at a anime convention where i'm suppose to have a good time since it usually is my only Major break of the year from college and work.

First of all, I want to thank everyone that was there. This turned out to be a great event and I was certainly glad to be a part of it.

Thanks again to the Youmacon staff...never been to a con this big and everything on my end went VERY smoothly and very professionally. My fiancee and I had a great time and we will certainly be back again!

Special thanks also to our waltz instructor, Michael, and our ballroom/swing instructors, Garret, Heather and Paul for their assistance and great teaching! Their input was immense and I couldn't have done it without them!

(Side note...5 days later, Garret became a daddy!! His wife's due date was that Friday, so we were lucky to get him!)

Just to reply to a couple of comments....

Having never done anything quite like this before, the format I went with was pretty basic...2 waltzes, 2 swing tunes, 2 fox trots, 2 salsas, 2 quick step, and so on and so forth. It may have seemed like there were 10-20 swing tunes between waltzes, but that wasn't quite the case. This format was decided on based on feedback I had received on the forum. Some wanted swing, some wanted waltzes, some wanted more ballroom stuff. Obviously it's impossible to keep everyone happy, but that's what I try to do, and I kept the format going based on how the dance floor was going and on feedback from people there, and no one asked for more waltzes. Trust me, I had plenty of them ready to go.

So basically...tell me what you want and you'll get it. You may not get it right away, but it'll happen. I can't do this without your input!

Having said that, I'll certainly endeavor to play more waltzes next year (provided I'm invited back, which I have been told at this point will most likely happen). As I've stated before, this whole thing was a BIG experiment for me and the con, so obviously there'll be some tweaking. We'll certainly try to improve things as we go along here.

As far as the "Love Shack" request...sorry I wasn't able to play that, but I didn't see that one fitting into the styles that the staff had hired me to play. We did attempt some more modern tracks later in the evening that could still be danced to (fox trot, swing, done to Outkast, Duffy, etc). I did go into a regular set after midnight, and actually had that one cued up and ready to go, but as soon as I went into that set, the place emptied out in a hurry (I guess there was another dance or two going on at the same time)! So we just ended things at about 12:30.

I'll discuss with the staff and we'll see what they want, what feedback they've gotten and so on. I make no promises that there'll be any significant changes made to the format, but we'll see what we can do. Again, you can't always make everyone happy, but I never stop trying.

Thanks again for your feedback and constructive criticism and I look forward to next year!

I applaud your INCREDIBLE improvements to both the game room (great layout except getting to the back corner where the SSBB tourney was) and to the Masquerade Ball (the music played was 100x better, and the tables were nice, as well as having two dance classes!).

ValenciaCrowe wrote:@Chamelion: Yes, I do understand that you guys have paid a lot to get those perks, but not everyone is able to save up for that. Not everyone has a job or gets an allowance and such.[/color]

First off, I'm not saying that there are not some quirks that need to be worked out in regards to the platinum registration system.

However, we do have a platinum option. Saying that "some people" can't afford platinum registration is akin to saying that "some people" can't afford a badge at all. It is very true. But if you want to have the benefits that having a badge affords (access to panels and events, the free game room, the dealer's room, and con suite, among other things), then you buy a badge. You can attend the convention without one, however your access is limited.

The same goes for platinum registrants. They are willing/able to shell out the cash for special perks.

Just because there are those that can't afford a platinum badge, doesn't mean we should eliminate the entire idea, the same as we shouldn't eliminate badges just because some people cannot afford them.

As nice as that would be for those that want to have access for everything for free, we then wouldn't be able to make the convention better every year as we've been trying to do.

ValenciaCrowe wrote:@Chamelion: Yes, I do understand that you guys have paid a lot to get those perks, but not everyone is able to save up for that. Not everyone has a job or gets an allowance and such.[/color]

First off, I'm not saying that there are not some quirks that need to be worked out in regards to the platinum registration system.

I mentioned this earlier; but I would not be against the autograph sessions being removed from the Platinum perks, or to have two sets of autograph sessions for each guest... one with a platinum line first, and one 'first come, first serve'.

events like masquerade, party and so on should remain the same.

Maid Cafe: If the guests agree to stay two hours, make hour 1 strictly for Platinum only, not even the $10 ticket. Hour two, accept the $10 tickets to meet the guests, dine with them. Hour three is free, but no promises to meet a guest.

Just thoughts

C

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I am an astute observer of the glaringly obvious.
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Chamelion wrote:I mentioned this earlier; but I would not be against the autograph sessions being removed from the Platinum perks, or to have two sets of autograph sessions for each guest... one with a platinum line first, and one 'first come, first serve'.

The one issue I can see with this is that guests are already doing 2 hours of autographs that weekend. While it may not seem like a lot to some attendees, when you add that to all the other events that guests do, adding two more hours may just not be feesible. As it is, many guests are busy and sometimes have a hard time finding time to eat.

Chamelion wrote:Maid Cafe: If the guests agree to stay two hours, make hour 1 strictly for Platinum only, not even the $10 ticket. Hour two, accept the $10 tickets to meet the guests, dine with them. Hour three is free, but no promises to meet a guest.

Just thoughts

C

Again, this is mostly a timing issue. Maid cafe is usually around dinner time and some guest have other events that night.

Anyways, thanks for the suggestions! It's great when everyone tries to help and even if your suggestion isn't taken exactly, it may help someone come up with something that can work. Hopefully, the platinum badge situation can be worked into something that more people like

EDIT: Idea, since one of the issues with the maid cafe is that staff has no idea how many of the platinums will pick the cafe, what if platinums picked before the con? That way staff might be able to better judge how many tickets to sell for the first hour. Though it might be difficult for reg staff.